The smile in the sky: Rare cosmic alignment sees Venus and Jupiter grin in the heavens

British tourists enjoying a spot of winter sunshine down under were able to look up and see the heavens smiling back down on them last night.

A rare cosmic alignment of the planets Venus and Jupiter meant they produced a smiling face with the crescent moon in Australia's western sky.

The unusual phenomenon, with Venus as the left eye and Jupiter the right, took place between 8pm and 11pm (Western Australia Time).It was visible to the naked eye, even in built-up areas, with the moon just 252,000 miles away.

Unfortunately, due to the curvature of the earth, the smiley face did not beam down from European or U.S. skies, although it was possible to see the planets.

Venus and Jupiter appear close to each other from time to time, but are often obscured by their proximity to the sun.Sydney Observatory astronomer Nick Lomb earlier told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'The three brightest objects in the night sky will all be in the same patch of sky.'

The last time a similar alignment was seen in the Southern Hemisphere was more than 10 years ago in April 1998 when an upside-down 'sad' face was visible.

The cosmic cheer is not due to reappear in the skies over Australia until 2036.